


Nightmares

by xXdreameaterXx



Series: Arrows of Eros [11]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 09:11:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6323515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdreameaterXx/pseuds/xXdreameaterXx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor has nightmares and Clara comforts him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yes-that-is-my-name](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=yes-that-is-my-name).



> yes-that-is-my-name from Tumblr made me do it! While writing I decided to make it shorter and less graphic than I had originally intended.

The Doctor rarely slept. He simply didn't need as much sleep as his human companion next door but in the past few weeks something else had kept him from sinking back into the pillows and seeking the peaceful oblivion of a good night's rest, something dreadful and much more terrifying. He dreamt of Clara. It was as if in his dreams the original truth about her came to light, the truth he was trying to deny, trying to forget while they were running, chased by aliens, hunting the next adventure as soon as the last one had ended. Yet he knew, deep in his hearts, that Clara wasn't alright, that something would happen to her. Eventually. The Doctor had tried to talk to her about it, he had warned her that her recklessness was dangerous, he knew that the seeds of depression had started to sprout inside of her ever since Danny's death. Clara lied to him about it, and even though he recognized the lies for what they were, he ignored them. 

 

_The Doctor was standing at the top of the tower, right outside the king's throne room – if they called him a king on this planet. He hadn't really bothered to ask while officially being greeted as a guest. Not that he wanted to be here at all. He and Clara had landed on this vast, dark planet that seemed to be stuck in the middle ages by pure chance. Everything was made out of rock, the castle tower, the people's homes, because they had nothing else, not even direct sunlight. As the Doctor made his way downstairs he glanced out of one of the windows in passing and stopped when he noticed that a crowd had gathered below the tower. Almost ready to dismiss it and move on he suddenly caught a glimpse of what was drawing the attention of everyone and it made his hearts stand still. Before he had even made up his mind about it the Doctor's feet had broken out into a run and they didn't stop until he had arrived downstairs, his brain trying to discard what he thought he had seen all the way down. No, it wasn't real. It was his fears playing a trick on him. It was this place playing a trick on him._  
As the Doctor pushed his way through the crowd he could hear some of the locals mutter. “She jumped, I've seen it with my own eyes,” said one, while the other protested “No, no, she fell. It was an accident.”  
He didn't care who was right and who was wrong when his eyes rested on the body lying on the floor – Clara's body. For a moment he thought his knees would give way under him and his entire body went numb while the Doctor sank to the ground next to Clara. He knew that she wasn't breathing, he knew that she wasn't alive and while his gaze wandered over her twisted limbs the chatter around him grew louder and louder and the Doctor pulled her closed and wrapped his arms tightly around her. When he was holding on to Clara while she had already let go of this world minutes ago the chatter turned into screaming. 

 

“Doctor!”  
He jerked awake and sat up in bed, his breathing fast and ragged as he almost bumped heads with Clara.

_Clara._

By instinct he reached out and held on tight to her arm, a feeling of relief washing over him when he realized she was warm. And alive. And unharmed. It had been a dream, a nightmare and the thought of what he had seen made him nauseous. The look of her large, friendly eyes staring lifelessly at him was edged into his memory and he knew that one day it would come to that. One day he would be holding her just like he had held her in his dream.  
“You were screaming, I just wanted to see if you were okay,” Clara told him, her voice calming him instantly. Maybe someday it would happen. But not tonight. Not now.  
“Nightmare,” he replied breathlessly and swallowed when suddenly the Doctor found Clara's arms around his neck and she was hugging him tightly.  
“Clara,” he breathed nervously, “Wh-what are you doing?”  
“It's a hug. Just accept it,” she whispered and he could hear her smile through her voice. Reluctantly the Doctor laid his arms around her and it felt oddly nice and comforting to hold on to her like this, especially because he knew that time was flying by and she was slipping away from him.  
“It's no surprise you have nightmares,” Clara said after a moment, “All the things you've seen, the battles you've fought. That would get to anyone. Wanna tell me what it was about?”  
For a moment the Doctor considered it. He considered telling her about his fears, his worries about her, telling her to be careful, to watch her every step because he couldn't lose her. Not like this. Not ever.  
“No,” he replied eventually, “Like you said. Old demons.”

Finally Clara let go of him and sank down in the pillow next to him, turning to stare at his ceiling. He glanced up as well. After his last regeneration he had redecorated the bedroom so it looked like he was sleeping under the stars but it had been so long that he hadn't really looked at it in a long time, almost forgetting what a beautiful and calming sight it was.  
“Can I have that in my room, too?” she asked him after a shooting star had fallen across the artificial sky.  
“Of course,” he replied, “I'll set the TARDIS up in the morning.”  
The Doctor turned to look at Clara, her presence making him feel better and yet not quite forget about the dream.  
“I can sleep here if you like,” Clara whispered as if reading his thoughts, “When I was a kid and had nightmares I would crawl into my parents' bed. It's easier once you're no longer alone. The dream fades.”  
Slowly the Doctor lay back down, thinking that she was probably right. With every passing minute he grew more and more aware that his dream had been nothing but that – a bad nightmare that he would forget about eventually. Clara reached out and took his hand, squeezing it on her own while she sighed sleepily.  
“You can take me to a nice place tomorrow,” she mumbled, “Woodstock. Or that planet where the inhabitants never stop laughing.”  
The Doctor cocked his eyebrows. “There's no such planet.”  
She chuckled lightly. “How would you know? Maybe you just haven't found it yet?”  
He closed his eyes and smiled. “Alright. Let's go looking for that planet tomorrow,” he agreed and with Clara's hand in his own he slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
